SchoolTrainer Blog
Friday, February 19th, 2010
In order to prepare for the GRE exam, start working at least 3 to 6 months before the exam date. A focused preparation schedule and the right approach are what you require to get a good score in the GRE. The general GRE tests your basic verbal, mathematical and analytical writing skills.
However, getting a good score is not the only factor that a graduate school might weigh while assessing a candidate’s skills developed over his academic years. Some graduate schools look for better analytical skills and writing abilities in addition to a good score.
You can get a private tutor or a good online GRE tutor for yourself if a good private tutor is not available locally. The face-to-face interaction with a tutor helps in reinforcing certain concepts and clarifying issues. While preparing for the GRE exam, keep assessing your skills in all the three sections as all the sections are equally important. Try to take a practice GRE exam by enrolling in some online GRE mock tests or use the resources provided by your tutor.
Such exams require some sacrifices, but the result will pay off some day. You need to plan your schedule during the preparation period for the GRE exam. Stick to your schedule without any excuses and practice regularly. While giving the exam, if you are stuck on one question, avoid wasting your time and move on to the next question. Also avoid guesswork as there are negative points for wrong answers in this exam; this can really reduce your score if you’re not careful.
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
Science makes your outlook towards life a little different than other subjects. Studying this subject opens many doors for you to enlighten your future. In case you could not figure out how to prepare for your science exam well, you need to develop the right temperament first. Science is about being practical, so get ready to test your brains through this labyrinth.
First and foremost, start preparing for the Science exam in advance. The sooner you start, the better your chances of performing well in the exam as you feel more confident as the exam day approaches. Complete the theory part thoroughly; attend the classes regularly at school. If you miss some lecture then try asking some of your classmates to cover up or simply ask your teacher to help you out. Studying with someone can be a good option sometimes so you can synchronize your work schedule with your friend.
Science is about being practical and not just being a theoretician. So attend all the lab sessions regularly and try to perform all the experiments by yourself to understand the phenomena better and it will last longer in your memory as well. Do not skip any assignments as there is always a good chance to encounter something similar in the exam. Now prepare for your Science exam with a cool and practical approach and see the magic unveil the sweet fruit of good grades.
Enroll in our Online Science Tutoring program to get help with Science homework, assignments and test preparation.
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
GMAT Test Prep Tips
The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is one medium that can help you pursue your dream job. Every student needs to work hard to get a good score in this exam beating off hundreds of thousands of other aspirants. A good score can get you admission into some of the best business schools in the world. Coming back to the ground realities, in order to give this exam your best shot, you should better know how to prepare for GMAT well.
The GMAT exam is conducted around the world at various test centers and it costs you about $250. Its score is valid for 5 years so you can start preparing for GMAT accordingly. You can also give GMAT any time again but all the scores will appear in your official score card. GMAT tests your basic verbal, mathematical and analytical writing skills which you have developed over your academic years. Once you have decided to give the exam, start preparing at least 3 to 6 months before the exam in order to have a better chance of getting a good score.
Taking care of you personal preferences with your study style, schedule your work load. It requires a lot of discipline, motivation and the right temperament to crack the exam. You can get a private tutor or online tutor for one¬-to-one studies, practice regularly and every day for adequate number of hours but do not strain yourself. Studying in groups helps you to understand the mindset of other aspirants as well. Giving mock tests regularly also helps you test your skills that you have developed overtime. Complete the course well in advance so no topic is left untouched in order to prepare for the GMAT exam. You may also get help from an online GMAT Tutor to help you with GMAT preparation.
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
Proper and Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance
These are the 6 Golden P’s for any student who wishes to do well in exams. Exam time is really a pressure time for students. Students start to panic as soon as the exam time gets nearer and nearer. This is because they did not start preparing for the exams well in advance and now looking at their books with just a couple of days left, it appears to be a big problem. Students often do not understand how to prepare for exams. They just feel blanked out during the exam time and don’t know from where to begin your exam preparations.
There are some important rules that must be kept in mind before starting to prepare for the exams. In order to prepare well for exams:
- Start well ahead of time. You will not find any better substitute for this. Preparing in advance helps become familiar with the concepts early on. You get to know your strengths and weaknesses and from then on you can start improving upon them well in advance.
- You should make your own notes in case you want a quick revision tour of the concepts before the exams.
- Eat healthy and get adequate sleep. Avoid caffeine and junk food. Try to relax near the exam days. Indulging in sports is a good way of doing this.
Preparing for exams can become a lot easier by following these small steps and you will see your grades move in only one direction from then on which is upwards.
Promo: Get an Online Tutor to help you with doubts and difficult topics.
Exam time is really a pressure time for students. Students start to panic as soon as the exam time gets nearer and nearer. This is because they did not start preparing for the exams well in advance and now looking at their books with just a couple of days left, it appears to be a big problem. Students often do not understand how to prepare for exams. They just feel blanked out during the exam time and don’t know from where to begin your exam preparations.
There are some important rules that must be kept in mind before starting to prepare for the exams. In order to prepare well for exams, start well ahead of time. You will not find any better substitute for this. Preparing in advance helps become familiar with the concepts early on. You get to know your strengths and weaknesses and from then on you can start improving upon them well in advance. You should make your own notes in case you want a quick revision tour of the concepts before the exams. Eat healthy and get adequate sleep. Avoid caffeine and junk food. Try to relax near the exam days. Indulging in sports is a good way of doing this.
Preparing for exams can become a lot easier by following these small steps and you will see your grades move in only one direction from then on which is upwards.
Monday, January 25th, 2010
What kind of environment is optimal for studying (light, noise, desk, chair, temperature, etc.)
Studying is serious business. Therefore, it requires an environment conducive to extracting maximum success out of the effort. This includes the general environment in the place of study as well as among the students and teachers involved.
Students should study in a place which is well-lit. This eases the strain of the eyes and general disposition to become lethargic due to the lack of lighting. At the same time, the lighting should not be so acute that it hurts the eyes or results in general discomfiture.
The venue of studies should have enough flow of air, that is, it should be well-ventilated. This too, eases pressure on the student as adequate oxygen flow is important for the human body to function well.
Ideally, the temperature of the place where the student is studing should be ambient. However, it must be accepted that this is easier said than done as temperatures could vary between room to room and building to building. As an alternative, where control of room temperature is not easily possible, the student should wear appropriate clothing to maintain body comfort.
Seating comfort is also a vital part of being able to study well. The student should sit on a table and chair, which is comfortable, yet not too comfortable so as to induce lethargy or sleep. Typically, the student’s legs should touch the floor while sitting on the chair for the body to be able to maintain balance. The chair should be straight-backed so that long hours of studies do not result in bent back, pain in the back or neck and strained muscles.
Where teachers are also involved, care should be taken to keep the environment stress-free. An air of enquiry should be maintained so that students are motivated to ask questions as well as encouraged to give answers. This will enhance the quality of education. The end result will be high-quality studies.
Sunday, January 24th, 2010
Getting to know the questions that could possibly be asked in the ensuing week’s test can be of great help for students to score well. But most students are unable to find out the “jackpot questions” in the normal course of studies. Yet, it is not an impossible task to find out. Let’s see how it can be done.
Students need to keep a keen ear to hear the questions on which the teacher lays stress in the days preceding the test. Teachers generally lay stress on such questions – without of course, making it evident that the questions would be asked in the ensuing test – so that students learn the topic and are able to answer the questions.
Another way is to look for topics which are covered in great detail in the class. Though all topics are important, in the run-up to the test the teacher may cover certain topics/questions in great detail. Make a note of these, as there’s a good chance that these questions will find their way into the exam.
Ask the teacher how the questions would be – essay, multiple choices or a mix of both. Also, find out the time span over which the test would be held. Students can also find clues to possible questions from the previous years’ tests. This would entail seeking inputs from students who took the same course in previous years.
Sometimes teachers ask the students whether they have understood certain topics well and make the effort to repeat them. If this is done a few days before a test, there is a high likelihood that some questions relating to the topic will appear in the test. Also, students need to do some introspection and identify the topics that they find most difficult. In many cases, these would be tricky topics and could well appear in the test.
Monday, January 11th, 2010
Biology is an extremely challenging science with the vast vocabulary and knowledge students are expected to develop in a relatively short time. To cope with such pressure and come out with good results many a times requires special attention to the subject; this is where biology tutors can solve your problems. The secret to champion biology is an understanding of the various natural processes and organs in a comprehensive fashion, Biology tutors can offer this using their years of experience in describing these problems to students and can easily identify the difficult areas and give special focus.
Biology tutors also help your student develop an easy understanding of the subject, making biology an interesting and easy to score subject. Biology tutors also provide various tools to commit complicated processes to memory which is essential at any level of biology.
Online biology tutors offer help right at the comfort of your home, allowing your child to find time for other subjects as well. Online Biology tutors offer a planned approach to the tough parts of the subject and you can handle the easier part allowing you to pay for only the difficult areas and giving great savings in return.
Monday, January 11th, 2010
Each of us would have done this – study with a friend, family or on ones own – at some point during the course of our education. Each of these options has its own positives and negatives. However, there are more positives associated with studying alone than with studying with friend or family member.
For students inclined towards education or who are naturally endowed with high intelligence, self-study is the best option. It gives them the opportunity to chalk out their own strategy for attaining success. Nothing could be better than that, as it prepares them to get used to working to achieve success in their field of work. It also gives them the opportunity to understand their shortcomings and work towards correcting them. On the contrary, if they were to study along with friends or family members who may not be as systematic, intelligent or knowledgable as they are, the possibilities of their getting slowed down by the others would be very high. That would be sad.
For students who are not inclined towards education or have problems in comprehending or learning things on their own, self-study would hardly give the good results desired by their parents. This would give rise to a lot of heartburn. In order to set right this situation, they would then have to look for help – preferably professional – such as tutors. Another option could be to look for assistance from parents, elder siblings or friends. Though this mode of assistance would not cost anything, the student may not be able to receive consistent inputs from these sources since the arrangement would be informal and without any commitment for sustained time allocation. It may not yield the desired results.
However, during exam/test periods, it is a good idea for students to study in a group as it helps them clarify issues, recap concepts and make preparing for the test more fun.
Monday, January 11th, 2010
Reading comprehension is about understanding, grasping and retaining what has been read. It’s not just about glossing through or running your eyes over the pages. After all, what counts at the end of the exercise is the amount of material you have been able to understand and retain for future reference.
Typically, you would have some idea of the story, article or book that you have taken on to read. Therefore, keep your mind on how that idea is being expanded upon. See the manner in which the paragraphs have been developed, how the different ideas have been differentiated under various headings, how the story progresses to it logical conclusion.
As you continue reading, either take notes or highlight the vital portions. Avoid underlining portions of pages as it clutters up the pages and lends them a dirty look. Highlighting will also help you revisit the necessary portions. You could highlight with different colors to mark out different ideas.
Look at the new words that have been used in the story. Make a note of these words and their meanings. Try using these words in sentences of your own. This will help you understand these words better. And then add them to your personal vocabulary.
After completing reading the story or a large portion of the book, sit back and review it all. This will help bring into focus all the vital aspects of the story. It will also help look forward to the things that need to be looked for in the ensuing pages.
Look for things you have not been able to understand in the story. Jot down these points and look elsewhere, such as reference books or on the Internet, to clarify these issues. Thus, you will eliminate the gaps in the story. A good reader is one who would have understood and grasped all that has been read. That’s a tall order, but nevertheless worth striving for.
Monday, January 11th, 2010
Ever seen an act of magic? They say it’s just a sleight of hand coupled with a lot of talk, which actually distracts the audience’s concentration. The entire audience is led to believe the most bizarre of things, thanks to the magician’s skill at distracting the audience’s normal concentration powers.
This actually showcases the importance of the powers of concentration. Yoga, the Indian art of maintaining a balance between the mind, body and spirit, is often cited as one of the most potent means of improving your powers of concentration. It helps focus the mind and the body, which it turn helps achieve remarkable feats. This focus of the mind and body helps to attain a kind of equilibrium. Kung Fu, the Japanese martial art, is another means of enhancing the powers of concentration. However, Kung Fu is used mostly for self-defense.
For students, honing the powers of concentration is important. For this, they need to sleep well, eat well and keep away from tea, coffee, alcoholic drinks and very fatty fast foods, which result in slothfulness. During the course of study, they need to break up the work spread over several hours. They should take breaks, say of two to three minutes after every half hour or for five minutes after every hour. This could also be done after the successful completion of a specified portion of the studies. The break should be used to walk around, get a drink of water, exercise the neck or visit the washroom.
Look at each page you read. Close your eyes and picturize the page. Try and save a ‘photocopy’ of the page in your mind. At the exam venue, again close your eyes and try to visualize the page. If you have done your exercise honestly, it will re-appear.
Jot down your ideas. For this, carry a jotting pad and a pen everywhere. One never knows when inspiration strikes. Once you develop this habit, ideas keep coming to you. And once you elaborate on them in your spare time, it could result in the writing of a book, blog, column or making a film. There’s really no end to the things that you can actually achieve with a little bit of concentration.